Children of a parent with ASD / Asperger’s Syndrome

What can be the affect on a child if a parent has Autism Spectrum Disorder (including Asperger’s, High Functioning autism, ASD)?

That question should ideally be answered by the child, including adult children.

The issue of Asperger’s/ASD parenting affects thousands of children’s well-being alone in this country. And that affects millions of children’s well-being worldwide. Still, there is limited information available on the subject.

The concerns of a normal (NT) mother or father of a child when the other parent has AS / ASD will raise a number of key questions, such as:

What will be the emotional / social / intellectual outcome and impairment for the child when the Asperger/ ASD-parent …

cannot read the child’s emotional state and needs, including an infant who does not yet have a language?

cannot give an appropriate emotional response?

cannot switch instantly from one situation to another and respond immediately to the child’s needs?

has difficulty in appropriate physical contact?

has sensory difficulties with sounds and noise from playing children and their peers?

By definition of the disorder, those parents on the autism spectrum may obviously have limitations in parenting skills.

Asperger’s/ASD expert and psychologist Tony Attwood mentions briefly in his book “ The complete guide to Asperger’s Syndrome” a number of serious limitations on the parenting skills of those with autism spectrum disorder (including Asperger’s and High Functioning autism). [1]

Attwood thus mentions the following phenomena:

The emotional atmosphere at home is characterized by the AS/ASD parent’s negativity and irritability.

Asperger’s puts a damper on the other family members’ enthusiasm.

Spouse and children living on tiptoe so as not to trigger tantrums and mood swings in Asperger-parent.

The family lives in fear of the strong reactions, an outbreak can cause.

Spouse and children must adapt Asperger-parent’s inflexible routines and their inflexible expectations of others’ behavior.

Spouse and children are forced to adapt to Asperger-parent’s intolerance to noise, spontaneity, playmates and guests, and they must endure Asperger’s black and white perception of others.

General children’s needs and behavior is not understood by Asperger-parent.

Children and spouses rarely receive positive confirmation from the Asperger-parent.

Asperger parent does not show much interest in what has emotional significance for the other family members and often criticizes.

Praise from an Asperger parent is rare.

The parent who does not have AS/ASD, experiences the reality of effectively being a single parent with sole responsibility for children, home and family.

NT-children’s reaction

Tony Attwood also describes how normal children may react to the parenting style by feeling:

not loved and not accepted,

feeling invisible,

learning not to show emotion nor expect mutual sympathy in joy and sorrow,

not permitted to show sadness

learning that to attempt conversation with their AS/ASD-parent results in a monologue about the adult’s own problems

their parent has no real interest in them and their lives,

may find that peers are not welcome in the home.

Tony Attwood writes that a father or mother with Asperger’s syndrome/ASD in some cases can learn to be a good parent. However, a precondition for this is that the ASD-parent recognizes their Autism Spectrum Disorder and lack of Theory of Mind and recognizes their need for ongoing professional guidance.

The neuro-typical parent’s central role

Professor Tony Attwood does not mention in his book the important role that the normal (NT) parent has

in their children’s emotional, social and intellectual development.

He also does not mention the importance of the psychological and educational efforts, the normal (neuro-typical) parent performs to train and motivate Asperger-parent to function optimally in parenting.

Finally, he does not mention the special problems that arise around the kids, if the adult relationship is dissolved by separation, and if the divorce and child custody authorities including social workers, lawyers, psychologists etc. do not have specialized experience and knowledge of the impacts on children of a parent’s autistic, invisible disorder.

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3 comments for “Children of a parent with ASD / Asperger’s Syndrome”

sharon

11. april 2018 at 22:17

great explanation of the effect on a NT child with an ASD parent. I need help as one of these children, now 61 years old, but don’t know who to turn to. I married a guy with ASD and have two out of three children with the characteristics. I don’t feel I belong…anywhere…I never have…and regular mental health counselors don’t understand…medications have never even touched the pain…I am glad to see this problem hitting the radar. I fear it is too late for me though…

I’ve been stuck in a relationship with a AS man for 14 years, unable to leave because it would not be safe to leave the kids part time in his care after a separation, physically and emotionally. Left alone with them for short times, he is unable to cook well or prepare food on time, plan shopping and meals, plan for their nutritional needs, (feeding them lollies and chocolate instead of meals at times), provide them medicine or effectively determine when they need medical care. He will not get up in the night if they need him, often won’t talk to them and socially isolates himself most of the time. he verbally abuses them for not doing their jobs, even before they have had a chance to do them, even after he has neglected the small number that he considers his own. He has no engagement in their social health, not knowing their friends or the parents of their friends, never organising parties or people over, withdrawing if we have guests (or being rude to them), never organising meetings with other parents or attending school functions (excpet award ceremonies). he rarely engages in their homework, assignments or school life, or anything to do with their physical and emotional health, like physiotherapists, doctors or counsellors etc. I am responsible for meeting their emotional needs – all their worries, fears, frustrations, problems, hopes, dreams, insecurities and responsible for his emotional and social processing (and constant, gentle, over-cautious education and guidance) too. I constantly have to be on guard to protect the kids against his rages and meet all their needs like an unrecognised and unsupported single mother. Nothing I do is recognised and instead I am blamed for everything he does wrong or makes mistakes on, or pulled down because he feels anxious, angry or insecure, often for things that are nothing to do with me. And yet, if we divorced, he could get 50% custody for kids who beg me to leave him. We were recently diagnosed as living with domestic violence, the financial and emotional abuse and neglect is so bad. Suddenly people are listening to me in a way they didn’t when the diagnosis was AS – they suddenly have sympathy for us when nothing has changed. But they don’t understand the half of it. If he hurt someone else this much in any other environment, such as a workplace, there would be legal recourse for them. But for us in OUR HOME there is no hope and so little chance of escape or justice.

Thank goodness for your article, because there is so little help for NT children who are suffering in silence with an AS parent. There are no experts willing to stand up to speak to their experience living with AS parenting. I hope more will come online in my lifetime, and I want to give anyone who needs it, whatever support I can.